Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 23 – The Tail Flap

I quickly took off Ava’s dress and neatly folded it to give back to her. But standing there in the changing room, looking over the dress the woman gave to me again, there was just one thought that filled my mind.

Ovia would look so much better in this…

…

…

She’d look better than me in… anything…

…

She’s just… better than me…

I quickly threw the dress over my head in an attempt to try and distract myself. Immediately, I noticed how much more comfortable it was compared to Ava’s dress, which wasn’t that surprising after thinking about it for a bit. A dress made with any kind of fabric is going to poke you less than a dress made of feathers.

After pulling the dress down and freeing my hair, there didn’t seem to be anything else for me to fasten, so I moved my attention down to my tail.

Lifting up the skirt, I untied my makeshift scarf from my leg, freeing my tail. Initially, I felt a wave of relief pass over me, but that feeling almost immediately disappeared once I looked my tail over. It was a complete mess, with fluff sticking out all over the place.

No!

This can’t happen!

Panicking, I tried to flatten out the fur with my hands, but it didn’t help much. If anything, I was just making it worse.

Why?!

I-I-I don’t think I can do that again!

I-If I bother her again after saying no to her s-so much…

…

I-I’ll just fix it… myself…

I-I have to.

…

I still had one more thing to do to finish putting the dress on. I still needed to get my tail through the flap in the back. So I just moved my attention to that, holding onto the hollow hope that, just maybe, my tail would sort itself out.

I thought that there would just be a simple hole in the back of the dress for my tail, but instead, there was an additional piece of fabric sewn in behind the opening, which formed a sort of pouch. If I had to guess, it was probably to prevent anyone from seeing inside the dress from any gaps at either side of the tail. But with my fluffy tail, I don’t think that would have been an issue.

Using one hand, I guided the tip of my tail into the slot on the inside of the dress, and then I grabbed it on the other side using my other hand. Once I was sure I had a secure grip on my tail, I tried to pull it through quickly.

“*Yelp*”

It got caught on something, sending a shock right up my spine.

Almost immediately, I heard footsteps rapidly approaching, followed by a hurried knock on the door.

“Are you alright in there?” It was the woman from before, “I’m going to open the door just to check, okay?”

Slowly, the door opened, and she peeked her head around to see me standing there with a tear in my eye and a ragged tail in my hand.

Immediately after laying eyes on me, she stepped into the room and reached for my tail.

NO!

It’s mine!

I jumped back, turning so that she couldn’t see my tail, let alone grab it.

“Oh, oh no. I-I’m really sorry about that,” the woman said, taken aback, “I-I didn’t know. Should I get one of the other two to help instead?”

…

I don’t want to…

But…

…

I looked up at the woman while trying to make a sign with my hands. I linked my thumbs together and then flapped my fingers like a bird’s wings.

“Oh, um, alright, I’ll show them that, and they’ll understand?”

I nodded my head even though I wasn’t sure myself, and she left the room without saying anything else.

I guess… she’s the best option…

Pretty soon after, Ava burst into the room without even knocking.

“What’s the problem?!”

Not even waiting for my response, she ran up to me and went straight for my tail. Reflexively, I pulled back, which caused her to instantly freeze up.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first,” Ava took a deep breath, “So, can I help you out?”

…

I-I don’t have a choice…

I turned so that my tail was facing Ava.

“Okay then, let’s get your tail through first, alright?”

I didn’t respond, but Ava got my tail unstuck after only a few seconds of handling it.

“Hey, you’re doing good. Now I’m just going to pull your tail through slowly. You can just hit me if it hurts, and I’ll stop.”

I won’t do that…

…

I… couldn’t…

Again, she didn’t wait for my response and just got to work, pulling my tail through slowly, just like she said she would.

In less than a minute, my tail was sticking out the back of the dress, and somehow it didn’t get caught a single time.

“There, you’re all good.” Ava stood there, looking very proud of her work.

I hesitantly looked over my shoulder at my tail and just how much of a mess it still was.

…

Should I ask her now?…

But… I… just can’t…

…

“Hmm, what’s wrong?” Ava looked me over, “Ah, I see what’s happened. Your nice and neat tail didn’t survive the experience.”

…

I know…

Hearing someone else say it made it hurt just that little bit more, as it meant that I wasn’t just imagining it.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the brush with me… I didn’t realise this would happen…” Ava paused for a moment, before suddenly slapping her own cheek, “I’ll just do what I can for now… If that’s alright with you?”

…

I nodded.

Ava then sat down on the floor and gestured towards her lap. I followed along and sat down in front of her, laying my tail down in her lap.

After checking that I was alright with this one more time, Ava started gently running her fingers through my tail. Unlike when she brushed my tail before, it didn’t hurt… It actually felt a little comforting.

“Well, there you go. It’s not perfect, but it certainly looks better.”

I moved my tail into my own lap and looked it over, and true to her word, it did look a lot better.

…

Do I have to do this with her every time?

…

“Look, how about this? When we get back, I can teach you how to do this yourself?” Ava asked, “However, it’s not like I mind doing it.”

…

She must be able to read my mind…

This happens too often.

I didn’t respond to her, but I still made sure to make a mental note of what she said… Just in case.

Right now… there’s something more important.

After getting myself up off the floor, I quickly left the room and ran over to Raynelle and the woman to see what they thought of the dress.

Is it good enough for her?

…

However, as soon as I stood in front of them, the room fell completely silent.

What’s wrong?

Is it that bad?

I-I knew it…

I-I’m just… not her…

“Can you turn around for me quickly?” The woman finally broke the silence.

I did as she asked, still holding onto a small sliver of hope.

“Hmm… I think I need to make that tail flap a bit bigger.”

Huh?

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Ava came up behind me, carrying the folded dress I had left in the changing room, “It was more just than a little bit of work to sort out.”

“Well, I’ll get that done for the rest of them then,” The woman jotted something down on a notepad, “Honestly, this was bound to happen; You don’t really see beastkin in this city, let alone a kitsune.”

The rest?

The rest of what?

I turned and looked up at Raynelle.

“Don’t worry about it,” Raynelle looked over at the woman for a second before squatting down and grabbing the two ends of the ribbon hanging around my neck, neatly tying it into a bow, “B-by the way, I think that dress looks very good on you.”

Really!

My tail started to sway involuntarily, but that didn’t matter to me; this was what I needed.

Then- Then- Will she like it too?

Raynelle then looked back up at the woman, who responded by nodding her head while looking very proud of herself.

“Alright then Kit,” Raynelle turned back to me, “Where should we go next?”

Next?

We’re going somewhere else?

“She’s asking if you want anything else,” Ava put her hands on my shoulders from behind.

…

No…

I can’t take anything else.

This… is already too much.

I shook my head.

“Are you sure?” Raynelle asked.

…

I nodded my head.

“Okay then, just… if you even want anything, absolutely anything, you can always tell me. I’ll always do what I can.” Raynelle picked me up and started carrying me in her arms, “Anna, once again, thank you for both the dress and the advice. I’ll be back around soon enough for the rest.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it; it was a pleasure. If anything, I’d hope you could bring everyone back here when you come by again,” The woman responded.

“Haha, I’ll see about it, but it’s not really up to me,” Raynelle said as she waved to the woman and left the store with me still in her arms.

“Mom, you can take her back first. I’m gonna go grab some things while I can.” Ava handed the folded dress she was carrying to Raynelle as she walked past.

“Sure, sure, just get back soon. Unless you want to eat my stew again!” Raynelle shouted.

“Now, I definitely won’t be late!”

Ava was already out of sight, having gotten lost in all the people at the market.

“Guess it’ll just be us two for a bit then,” Raynelle looked down at me, “I’m sure we’ll come up with something to do.”

After that, we made our way back to the inn, catching glances from more than just a few people.

Almost done, just a little more…

Then… I’ll be ready to see you again.